Public memorial for Lakewood Agent Nicholas Graham set for Thursday

The public is invited to honor Lakewood Police Agent Nicholas Graham at a memorial service beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday at BRAVE Church in Englewood. Graham, 33, was killed in the line of duty on Nov. 5. The Colorado Fallen Hero Foundation is assisting with arrangements for his funeral.

Graham was fatally shot Thursday night while confronting a man described as suspicious as the man boarded an RTD bus near Colfax and Wadsworth. Sources identified the man to Denver7 Investigations as Gabriel Garcia, 34. Three other Lakewood police agents and a bystander were injured in the shooting. All four have since been discharged from the hospital.

Jared Rowlison, the foundation's vice president and undersheriff of the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, said Lakewood police had described Graham as committed to serving his community and well-liked by his colleagues. Graham's death marks the 14th Colorado line-of-duty death to which the foundation has responded since its establishment in 2016.

Foundation president Steve Redfearn, who also serves as Boulder's police chief, said Colorado had gone almost two years without a line-of-duty death. He described the foundation's team as devastated by Graham's killing and said they had hoped that period would continue. Redfearn also said officers understand the risks they face each day but try not to dwell on them so they can do their jobs effectively.

Road closures for Thursday's procession will start at 7:30 a.m. and remain in place until the memorial concludes. East Hampden, also designated U.S. 285, will close between BRAVE Church and First Plymouth Church UCC. According to the foundation, the procession will pass through a corridor of public safety vehicles before turning onto Colorado Boulevard and entering the rear of the church parking lot.

That corridor of vehicles will extend along East Hampden Avenue between Downing and Monroe. Eastbound Hampden lanes will be closed between Downing and Colorado Boulevard. The foundation asks community members planning to gather along the route to park at the Englewood Civic Center complex and use the crossing at Inca.

Meanwhile, questions remain about Garcia's release from custody before the Lakewood shooting. A Broomfield Police spokesperson said officers arrested him on Sept. 28 following a separate hit-and-run investigation. Garcia had an outstanding parole warrant at the time, but the department said Colorado Parole officials approved his release.

Garcia was released on Oct. 20, less than three weeks before the shooting that killed Graham and injured four others.